Unit 5 Physics Grade 12 New Curriculum Unit 5 Lesson Note
Unit 5 Physics Grade 12 New Curriculum Unit 5 Lesson Note
grade 12
UNIT 5
BASICS OF ELECTRONICS
Electronics is the study and design of systems that use the flow of electrons through such
components as semiconductors, resistors and capacitors.
Electronics plays an important role in the aerospace industry and automobile industries.
Electronic devices are also necessary in medicine.
Example, equipment such as
based on the type of atomic impurity added to the semiconductors; semiconductors classified as
An extra electron is created by adding an element that has more electrons in the outer shell of the
atom (called valence electrons) than the intrinsic semiconductor.
These elements usually come from Group V in the periodic table
Group V elements that serve as impurities include antimony, arsenic, bismuth, and
phosphorus.
the majority carriers are negative electrons,
Figure 5.2 Silicon crystal doped with arsenic element. For each arsenic atom
When Group III element such as aluminum, boron, gallium, or indium is added to a pure
semiconductor.
The added impurity atoms establish covalent bonds with the neighboring atoms.
These ‘holes’ are the majority carrier The minority carriers are electrons.
Figure 5.3 Silicon crystal doped with boron. For each boron atom present
in the Silicon crystal, there is one less electron.
A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that only conducts current in one direction
and blocks current in the reverse direction.
Diodes are made from a large variety of materials including silicon, germanium and
gallium arsenide, etc.
Figure
This diffusion current causes the p-type to become slightly negative while the n-type is
left equally positive
The combination of electrons and holes near the junction creates a narrow region in the vicinity of
the junction called the depletion region.
Within the depletion region, there are very few mobile electrons and holes.
In the depletion zone there are no more ‘holes’ in the p-type and no free electrons in the
N- type, so it forms a non-conducting strip which blocks all current.
The barrier potential of a P-N junction depends on the type of semiconductor material. This
is approximately 0.7V for silicon and 0.3V for germanium.
The barrier potential is the potential difference required to move the electrons through the
electric field.
a b
Figure 5.5 a) The P-N junction diode b) P-N junction symbol
Zero biasing condition is when no external voltage is applied to the P-N junction diode.
Positive terminal of the battery is connected to the P-type semiconductor and
The negative terminal to the N-type semiconductor,
The electrons move towards the junction as they are repelled by the negative terminal of the
battery.
Similarly, the holes move towards the junction because they are repelled by the positive
terminal of the battery.
Figure 5.6(a) Forward biased P-N junction (b) Forward biased circuit diagram.
When voltage is applied to a junction diode, the depletion region becomes very thin and
narrow. This represents a low resistance path through the junction, allowing high currents to
flow.
Figure 5.7 (a) Reverse biased P-N junction (b) reverse biased circuit diagram.
From the I-V curve (Figure 5.8) we can see that the current is very low if the forward voltage
is lower than the cut-in voltage.
The cut-in voltage is the voltage at which the forward diode current starts increasing
rapidly.
Once the forward bias exceed the cut-in voltage (0.3 V for germanium diode, 0.7 V for
silicon diode), the current will be dramatically increased, in the manner that the diode
will function asa short-circuit.
In the reverse bias, a very small current called a reverse bias current or leakage current flows
through the junction due to the minority charge carriers.
If the reverse bias voltage is too high, a sharp change in the reverse bias
characteristics occurs.
At a certain voltage, called the breakdown voltage, the current in the reverse
direction increases rapidly.
Review question 5.2
1. Define diode.
2. Under forward bias, the resistance is low and the current is
high. True or False.
3. What are the current carriers in P-N junction diode?
4. What is forward bias? What is reverse bias?
5. The characteristic curve of the diode shows the relation between:
(A) Current and voltage. (B) voltage and resistance. (C) voltage
and power. (D) resistance and temperature.
6. Depletion layer is caused by (A) doping (B) recombination (C) barrier
potential (D) ions
A P-N junction diode conducts electricity when it is forward biased and it does not conduct
electricity when it is reverse biased.
Rectification is used converted AC voltage supply in to a unidirectional (DC) voltage
The electric circuit used for the conversion is called a rectifier.
When the AC. input is applied to a junction diode,
It becomes forward biased during the positive half cycle and Reverse biased during
negative half-cycle.
Rectification is the main function of diodes.
There are two basic types of rectifier circuit used with power supplies:
Allows one half-cycle of an AC voltage waveform to pass by blocking the other half-cycle.
The current in the circuit flows in only one direction.
A half-wave rectifier consists of a diode and a load resistor connected in series to
the cathode end of the diode.
During the positive half-cycle of the input, the diode is forward biased.
Current flows through the load resistor and a voltage is developed across it.
During the negative half-cycle, the diode is reverse biased and does not conduct.
In the negative half-cycle of the supply, no current flows in the load resistor as no
voltage appears across it.
The DC voltage across the load is sinusoidal for the first half-cycle only and a pure AC
input signal is converted into a DC pulsating output signal.
The fact that the current flows only during half of each cycle in a half-wave rectifier is a disadvantage.
To overcome this disadvantage, a full-wave rectifier can be used.
a basic full-wave rectifier circuit, which uses four diodes
Figure 5.10 Basic full-wave rectifier circuits.
During the positive half-cycle of the supply, diodes D1 and D2 conduct in series. Diodes D3 and
D4 are reverse biased and so the current flows through the load resistor, as shown in Figure 5.11a.
During the negative half-cycle of the supply, diodes D3 and D4 conduct in series, diodes D1 and D2
switch off as they are now reverse biased. The current flowing through the load is the same
direction as before as shown in Figure 5.11b.
Capacitor is used in rectifier circuits to smooth the fluctuations of the output voltage.
A capacitor stores charge and releases it later.
The capacitor is connected across the terminals.
During the positive quarter-cycle of the output voltage, the capacitor is charged to the peak
voltage. As the rectifier voltage falls, the capacitor discharges and provides the required current to
the load resistor from its stored charge.
The charging and discharging process of the capacitor smooth’s out the waveform.
Figure 5.12 smoothing the output voltage using a capacitor in a full-wave rectifier.
A Photo Diode
A semiconductor device with a P-N junction that converts photons (or light) into electrical current.
The photodiode is a light-sensitive diode used to detect light or to measure its intensity.
Photodiodes are reverse biased so they do not conduct
Figure 5.15 Block diagrams of (a) NPN transistor (b) PNP transistor
Emitter:supplies charge carriers (electrons or holes).
The emitter terminal is the heavily doped region as compared to the base and collector.
Base: The middle section between the emitter and the collector.
The base is lightly doped and very thin.
The arrow mark is placed on the emitter in the direction of conventional current flow.
Figure 5.16 Schematic symbols for (a) an NPN transistor (b) a PNP transistor
The emitter in NPN transistor is connected to the negative terminal of the battery while the base
is connected to the positive terminal.
The arrows in Figure 5.18 show the direction of the electron current which is opposite to the direction of
the hole current (conventional current).
Figure 5.18 Electron current flows in NPN transistor (a) Block diagram NPN transistor (b)
Schematic diagram of NPN transistor.
Since the base-collector junction is always reverse biased, then the opposite polarity
voltage (negative) should be used for the collector (VC B ), as shown in Figure 5.20.
The emitter current is created when the emitter-base junction is forward biased; the emitter
pushes the holes towards the base region.
When the holes move into the base, they combine with the electrons.
The base is lightly doped and is comparatively thin.
Hence only a few holes are combined with the electrons and the remaining is moved towards
the collector.
Figure 5.20 Electron current flows in PNP transistor. (a) Block diagram of a biased PNP transistor (b)
Schematic diagram of a biased PNP transistor.
common-emitter,
common-collector and
common-base
Figure 5.21 NPN Transistor Circuits.
Common-Collector (CC) :
In the CC, the input signal is applied between the base and collector terminal.
The output is taken between the emitter and collector terminal. It provides good
current gain but no voltage gain.
Common-base (CB) :
In the CB, the input signal is applied between the emitter and the base terminal
The output signal comes from the collector and base terminal. This leaves the base
common to both the emitter and collector.
The circuit has voltage gain but no current gain.
Common-emitter (CE) :
In the CE, the input signal is applied between the base and emitter terminal.
The output is taken between the collector and emitter terminal. The circuit (Figure 5.22)
has both current and voltage gain.
Example 5.1 a transistor has a current gain of 250 and a base current 20 µA. What is the collector
current?
Solution
From the relation,
IC = β IB = 250×20 µA = 5 mA
The output characteristics for a CE transistor describe the change in collector current IC when
an increasing voltage VC E is placed between the collector and emitter.
A greater amount of current flows from the emitter to the collector when there is a
small change of current through the base.
To determine the output characteristics, the input current or base current IBis kept constant.
Notice that the base current is small in micro-Ampere, but the collector current is in milli Ampere.
For example, with the transistor represented by the graph, a change of 10 µA in the base
current would produce a change of around 2 mA in the collector current, which is about
200 times more than the base current.
The main applications of transistors are amplification of electrical signal and switching.
The transistor is a very useful and widely usable electronic component.
Modern electronic devices like computers, smartphones, tablets, smart watches, etc are made up
with
transistors where they are acting as switches.
Transistor can amplify electronic signal.
A weak signal applied in the input circuit appears in the amplified form in the output circuit.
Transistors can be combined to form a logic gate, which compares multiple input currents to
provide a different output.
Computers with logic gates can make simple decisions using Boolean algebra.
These techniques are the foundation of computer programs.
Transistors are used in complex switching circuits that comprise all modern telecommunications
systems.
They are the basic elements in integrated circuits (ICs), which consist of a large number
of transistors interconnected in a circuit.
In large numbers, transistors are used to create microprocessors where millions of transistors
are embedded in nearly all ICs, which are part of every electronic device.
Transistors and other semiconductor devices have made it possible to reduce the size of electronic
circuits because of their small size and low power consumption.
Integrated circuits are used in almost all electronic equipment in use today and have revolutionized
the world of electronics.
The invention of integrated circuits are boon for digital technologies like computer, mobile phones,
MP3, fans, traffic lights, DVDs and many other devices.
The goal of the integrated circuit is to develop a single device to perform a specific function, such as
amplification or switching, microprocessor, timer, as computer memory, eliminating the separation
between components and circuits.
In computing systems, the binary number symbols ’0’ and ’1’ represent two possible states of a
circuit or an electronic device.
The simplest digital circuits are called logic gates.
An integrated circuit is a collection of logic gates.
The logic gates are building blocks of digital electronics.
The logic gate may have one or more inputs, but only one output.
The logical statements that logic gates follow are called Boolean expressions.
1.In Boolean algebra, the addition sign (+) is referred to as OR. The Boolean expression for OR
is:
y=A+B
y is equal to A ’OR’ B.
2. The multiplication sign (.) is referred to as AND in Boolean algebra. The
Boolean expression for this is: y = A.B y is equal to A ’AND’ B.
3. The bar sign (-) is referred to as NOT in Boolean algebra. The Boolean expression is: y
= A y is equal to ’NOT’ A.
The OR gate, AND gate and NOT gate are called basic logic gates.
The NOR gate and NAND gate are called universal logic gates because any logic gate can be
made from combinations of NAND gate or NOR gates.
Each of these gates performs a different logical operation.
Two parallel switches and Lamp is connected as shown in Figure 5.25. Lamp “ON” is equal
to 1 and lamp “OFF” is equal to 0.
If both switches A and B are open, no current will flow through the external wire. So
the lamp is OFF i.e. equal to 0.
If switch A is closed switch B is open, the current passes
through switch A and the lamp is ON, i.e. equal to 1; 1 + 0 = 1
If switch A is open and switch B is closed, the current passes through B and the lamp is
ON, i.e. equal to 1; 0 + 1 = 1
If both switches are closed, tamp is ON, i.e. equal to 1; 1 + 1 = 1
Figure 5.25 The OR gate symbol, switch circuit and truth table.
Application of OR gate
An OR gate can be used to fit two light switches for a long, dark corridor which has one switch at
each end of the corridor.
AND gate
In general, the simple AND gate is also a two inputs and one output logic gate. It combines the
input A and B to give the output y, following the Boolean
expression Y= A.B
If either A or B are 0, then AB will also be 0. For AB to be 1, we need A and B to be both 1.
The function of the AND gate is such that the output is TRUE if and only if
all the inputs are in TRUE conditions. In this circuit, the switches and the lamp are in series.
Figure 5.26 the AND gate symbol, switch circuit and truth table.
If both switches A and B are OPEN (i.e., A = 0, B = 0) then the lamp will not glow, i.e.y = 0.
The current will not pass through the lamp.
If switch A is closed and switch B is open, the current will not pass through the lamp. The lamp is
OFF, so y = 0.
If switch A is open and switch B is closed, the current will not pass through the lamp. The lamp is
OFF, so y = 0.
If both switches A and B are closed, current will pass through the circuit. Now the lamp is ON and
glowing. So y = 1.
APPLICATION OF AND gate
An AND gate can be used to fit an automatic circuit to light up a display in an airplane if two toilets are
in use.
NOT gate
The NOT gate is a one input and one output logic gate. It inverts or complements the input A to give
output y following the Boolean expression.
y=A
Figure 5.27 The NOT gate symbol, switch circuit and truth table.
If switch A is open, the current will pass through the lamp and it will glow. So, y = 1 when A = 0
If switch A is closed, the current will take the shortest path and pass through the switch. Hence
the lamp is OFF, so y = 0 when A = 1.
You already have a digital electronic soil moisture sensor.
A NOR logic gate is one in which OR gate is followed by a NOT gate. The symbol, equivalent
circuit and truth table are shown in Figure 5.28. The function of this gate is ’inverting’ the output of
the OR gate.
Figure5. 28 The NOR gate symbol.
The NOR gate combines the inputs A and B to give the output y, by the Boolean expression:
y = A +B
Figure 5.29 the NOR gate switch circuit and truth table.
Switch A and switch B are open, the current will flow through the lamp, and the lamp is ON. So y =
1.
If switch A is closed and switch B is open, the current will pass through switch A (low resistance
path) and reach the cathode of the battery. The lamp is OFF, so y = 0.
If switch A is open and switch B is closed, the current will pass through switch B (low resistance
path) and reach the cathode of the battery. The lamp is ‘OFF’, so y = 0.
If switch A and switch B are closed, the current from the battery will pass through the two parallel
switches (the low resistance paths) reach the cathode of the battery. The lamp is OFF, so y = 0.
y = A.B
Figure 5.30 The NAND gate symbol, switch circuit and truth table.
If both switches A and B are open, the current will flow through the lamp. The lamp is ON, so y = 1
If the switch A is closed and B is open, the current will again flow through the lamp. The lamp is
ON, so y = 1.
If the switch A is open and B is closed, the current flows through the lamp. The open switch A act as
a inter circuit breaker. The lamp is ON, so y = 1.
If the switch A and B are in closed position, the current will pass through the switches (low
resistance path) and reach the cathode of the battery. Hence, the lamp is OFF, So, y = 0
Exercise 5.1
1. Figure 5.31 shows a logic circuit and its incomplete truth table. Complete the truth table
3.The truth table of a logic circuit is given in Figure 5.33 (a) and (b). Name the logic circuit.
Many machines like X-ray, MRI and others which are the combination of different physics theorems
and electronics
In medical science - Robotic Check-Ups, Needle-Free Diabetes Care, Electronic Aspirin, etc.
There are also various electronic equipment which makes our life easy and better. These
include appliances such as
Air conditioner,
Cooking appliances,
Dryer,
Personal computer etc.
18. what logical operations are performed by an AND gate and an OR gate?
19. What negative logic and positive logic mean?
20. draw the symbol for a NAND gate and write the Boolean expression for it.
THE END